“Dear mechanics”: Cyclist asks bike shop staff to stop “shaming” customers on social media over poorly maintained bikes; Is council’s “painted leaf” experiment an “accident waiting to happen”?; Dutch-style roundabouts reap benefits+ more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Why cyclists don't use the cycle lane? Edition 3,390
On a series that seems to be never-ending on the road.cc live blog, here’s a new edition…
Twitter user AZB wrote: “Plenty of parking spaces just in front. Will the driver use them? No! Better to illegally park on the pavement and block the garbage excuse for a bike lane.
“Drivers – don’t complain when cyclists don’t ride inside those death-trap lines.”
ICYMI: road.cc Podcast episode 87, feat. Rapha co-founder, Team Sky, MAMILs and cycling's skin-suited future
To mark two decades of the storied cycling apparel brand he co-founded, Mottram tells us about a particularly uncomfortable meeting with Dave Brailsford, highlights and lowlights over the years and Rapha’s humble beginnings…
"Positive impact": UK's first Dutch-style roundabout in Cambridge, originally found to be increasing collisions, reported to have increased cycling by 50% and pedestrians by 30%
Build it and they’ll come, behaviour shift, strength in numbers… we can keep going.
But it seems that the much-maligned Dutch-style roundabouts in Cambridge, built in Cambridge in 2020 have finally led to more cyclists and pedestrians using the intersection.
The roundabout made headlines last year when collision figures showed that there had been more reported collisions in the three years since it was installed than in the three years prior in its old layout.
The report, released by the BBC using figures provided by Cambridgeshire County Council, showed that there had been 10 reported collisions, three of which were serious, at the Fendon Road roundabout in Cambridge since the new layout giving priority to cyclists and pedestrians was introduced in 2020, more than the six minor incidents that were reported between 2017 and 2019 with the old layout.
> More collisions at UK’s first Dutch-style roundabout than old layout, figures reveal
However, Melissa & Chris Bruntlett, authors of ‘Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality’ and ‘Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in our Lives’, wrote on Twitter that “shifting to a more human-centred approach and creating a safe, attractive link in the city’s active travel networks” has led to the intersection becoming welcoming and attractive for cyclists and pedestrians alike.
They added: “Using elements like reduced turning radii and grass islands and central medians to help slow car traffic, the design gives priority to and improves safety for walking and cycling at the junction.”
Uzbek women's team Tashkent City shuts down after three years, following controversial Paris Olympic and Tour de France Femmes showing, as star rider Yanina Kusova blames national authorities for poor management ahead of UCI World Championships
Three-year-old Uzbek women’s team Tashkent City Women’s PCT shuts down after controversial Paris Olympic and Tour de France Femmes showing, as Yanina Kusova blames national authorities for poor management
Tashkent City Women’s team, the Uzbek pro cycling team, founded three years ago, has folded with immediate effect, with the controversial team drawing even more controversy after its star rider Yanina Kusova has slammed the country’s authorities for poor management before the UCI World Championships in Zürich.
The team, composed of Uzbek rider, with the splendid Kusova, the national champion for the last three years in a row, had first drawn headlines after qualifying for the Tour de France Femmes. However, all of its riders abandoned the race except for Kusova, who finished the Grand Tour, eventually won by Polish rider Kasia Niewiadoma, at the iconic Alpe d’Huez.
Kusova shared the news yesterday on Instagram, writing: “Our team existed for 3 years and it was a great time and now it’s over.”
A source close to the team confirmed that the Tashkent City project had reached its conclusion, reports Global Peloton. “The project of Tashkent City Team will not continue,” the source revealed, citing the completion of their Olympic mission and a lack of elite cycling infrastructure in Uzbekistan as key reasons for the team’s closure. Corruption within the system was also mentioned as a contributing factor.
In an Instagram story, Kusova wrote: “My last race was August 18th. and all this time me and my team were at home in Uzbekistan. We didn’t take part in other European races because our team broke up and we probably won’t have any more trips, but I still didn’t stop training because I hoped to go to the World Championships WE – Road Race 2024.
“My country promised to pay for the trip. But in the end they bought tickets so that I have less than 24 hours before the start and of course I will be tired after the flight, but it doesn’t matter to them.
“I said I won’t go in that case,they don’t care. I’m so sorry that in Uzbekistan they don t understand the value of cycling and athletes – it’s a shame, our team existed for 3 years and it was a great time and now it’s over.”
She even posted a picture of the flight tickets which showed her itinerary, making her reach Zürich on 27 November at 2:05pm, with the women’s road race championship set to start on 28 November at 11:15am, leaving her with less than 24 hours to prepare for the race.
The future of the Kusova, along with the rest of the riders from the now-defunct team remains unclear.
Teenage driver who swerved into opposite lane to “scare” cyclists, hitting and killing one, cleared of murder – but sentenced to over a decade in young offenders’ institution and banned from driving for 12 years
An uninsured teenage motorist who swerved onto the wrong side of the road in a bid to “scare” a group of approaching cyclists, hitting one and leaving them with “catastrophic” fatal injuries, has been sentenced to over ten years in a young offenders’ institute and banned from driving for 12 and a half years for what the prosecutor described as an “exceptionally dangerous manoeuvre”.
In case you ever wondered how Mathieu van der Poel would look in a Lidl-Trek kit...
Calm down now, he’s not joined Lidl-Trek (as some cycling fans were shocked into believing for a split-second before coming back to their senses — that may or may not include your live blog host), but Mathieu van der Poel’s wearing the leaders jersey at the Tour of Luxembourg, sponsored by Lidl.
I missed the cycling news these last few days so seeing Mathieu van der Poel as new rider of Lidl-Trek was pretty shocking. 😱 pic.twitter.com/Rv0tMxB1wC
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) September 19, 2024
Speaking of weird sounds coming from your bike....
Car-less whisper? 40% of British people want car-free cities, according to new research, while over half call for more car-free zones in cities
London is gearing up for the ‘World Car-Free Day’ this Sunday (pun not intended), and ahead of the momentous day, aiming to offer a glimpse of life without automobiles on the street, a new survey of 2,000 Brits, conducted by bike subscription service Swapfiets, reveals that over half (55%) of the nation wants cities to have more car-free zones, while a staggering 2 in 5 support the radical step of making UK cities completely car-free.
This comes as cities including Amsterdam and Paris continue to expand their car-free zones, with Paris’ mayor Anne Hidalgo projected to spend €500M by 2026 on cycling infrastructure and incentives for Parisians to travel by bike.
When asked what UK cities would look like without cars, previous research from Swapfiets revealed that Brits believe roads should be transformed into more green spaces and trees (41%), more cycling and pedestrianised zones (40%) and lots more street dining (24%). Brits also expect to see new landmarks, more commemorative statues and more sporting facilities.
And to celebrate Car Free Day, Swapfiets is providing Brits with a free Power 1 e-Bike for a full month (RRP: £54.90 a month), and hosting a Car Free Day Cycle Squad on Sunday 22nd September to help build confidence and community for new cyclists.
Katarina Hlavata, UK Country Manager at Swapfiets, said: “It’s encouraging to see a movement of Brits who want to pursue a more sustainable way of life. What’s clear from our research is that the way we live, work and socialise in cities is constantly evolving – and we need to change with that evolution.
“Through our Car Free Day initiative and continued Cycle Squad, we want to play our part in building and fostering a community that can help fight for a positive change in the future.”
Is EPO making a comeback in cycling’s lower tiers? Asia-based Irish cyclist banned for three years after blood booster found in doping sample, week on from Astana development rider’s CERA positive
Fashion, they say, is cyclical. So too, it appears, is doping in cycling. Cortisone and testosterone, mainstays of the 1970s and 1980s (though they have lurked in the background for much longer), enjoyed a public renaissance over the past decade thanks to jiffy bags, missing laptops, and medical tribunals.
Meanwhile, in the early 2000s, the seemingly old-fashioned and rather gory use of blood transfusions suddenly became flavour of the month once again among the sport’s biggest names, after the UCI finally introduced a test for EPO, the performance enhancer of choice for the rocket-fuelled, big ring-climbing peloton of the 1990s.
And now, over two decades later, EPO itself is back in the news, in the wake of three quick-fire positive tests for the banned blood booster among either amateur or semi-professional cyclists since May.
18-year-old Cat Ferguson marks first victory for Movistar after turning pro, winning the first stage at Tour de la Semois
Not too shabby from Cat Ferguson, the British national women’s junior champion, who in just her third race with Movistar since turning pro this year has already bagged herself a well-deserved win at the first stage of Tour de la Semois, after finishing second and seventh respectively in her previous two outings.
As they say, the kids are alright!
Congratulations 🇬🇧 Cat Ferguson @Movistar_Team 👏👏#TourDeLaSemois pic.twitter.com/sAV4KlQyF1
— Tour de la Semois (@tourdelasemois) September 20, 2024
“Just a leaf-infested accident waiting to happen”: Council’s experiment of painting “leaf patterns” on the road leaves cyclists (and everyone else) confused
Kicking the day off with some crazy images from Wokingham Borough Council’s head-scratching experiment of painting “leaf patterns” on the road to “encourage drivers to move slowly and make the area better for pedestrians” has got cyclists, motorists and pedestrians — well, pretty much everyone tied in knots.
First of all, cyclists raised concerns about the swathes of paint on the California Crossroads in Finchampstead, part of a series of improvements to the village centre being a big no-no for cycling safety in the rain. Dan Swain commented on Facebook: “Ooh lots of white paint in the road. Lethal for those on two wheels in the rain.”
According to the council, “the leaf pattern is part of the design to slow traffic and make it clear to drivers that they are approaching an area where they don’t have priority,”. And well, some motorists haven’t taken to this well…
One person wrote: “I’m a professional driver and I can’t believe this.. The most important thing on any road is clear instructions more so when children are in the vicinity.. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and put safety first every time.”
But the loads of (more than 600, to be precise) comments on the council’s Facebook and Twitter posts makes us believe that the early arrival of autumn wasn’t taken to very well by a lot of people.
And there were some people who raised genuine concerns for pedestrians, especially children — with two schools in the neighbourhood near this quirky paintjob. Maybe it’s time for a comments roundup?
“Any reason why we’re part of an experiment, why not use a Zebra crossing, you know the one that’s in the Highway Code ? I looked up leaves but nothing in the Highway Code about leaves on the road!”
“Looks like a playground!! So deadly for children who are going to think they can play in the road.”
“Dangerous for those with visual impairment, and for children who might think this is a new playground game. Did you consult Guide Dogs for the Blind, for example, to see if they are training their guide dogs to navigate random pretty patterns and know this is where their partner crosses?”
“This is bizarre to say the least. Drivers should be focusing on the road and potential hazards not being confused and distracted by leaves painted onto the surface. It should be painted as a normal roundabout that people are familiar with and know how to deal with when approaching. This is plain daft and I can’t believe highways approved such a scheme.”
“Who the heck signed this off? This is an accident waiting to happen with pedestrians particularly children put in needless danger, looks like a children’s playground not a busy [when there is traffic on it] set of main roads.
“It must be changed back to the markings as in the highway code and road traffic rules before anything horrible happens.
“Also this is close to two schools — were they consulted Wokingham Borough Council over these changes, what do the schoolkids think and their parents/guardians and also the teachers of the schools as well, of the changes and the leaf designs and colourful dot to dots etc.
“Please let us not read of kids or adults with visual limitations or the elderly or anyone else being seriously injured or killed because of these fancy leaf and other designs that no one seems to understand.
“What will it take to get it changed to something sensible? How many people have to be injured or worse?”
Interesting.
I think you need to provide more information as to how to navigate this space on the approach when driving. yes people will possibly slow down because they are confused but some idea on if these junctions should be treated like a roundabout still or some other junction.
— Rob Zebedee (@zzebster) September 19, 2024
Some, however, found reasoning in the council’s decision to paint the road with leaves. One person replied on Twitter, saying: “People here totally missing the point – it’s not meant to look like a normal roundabout or road, it’s meant to look like an area that’s also used for other purposes, including pedestrians. It certainly makes you think carefully before driving into it.”
Another person noted that the road safety audit status is available on the council’s project page, and that it “looks fab”, before adding: “As with any new layout it will take a little time and extra care and attention until it becomes familiar.”
Which reminds me, if anyone else is wondering how the junction used to look before:
After all the attention (something something no press is negative press), Wokingham Borough Council said: “There is clearly a lot of interest in this new junction design. The scheme has gone through an independent road safety audit stage one and two, in line with the Department for Transport standards, prior to work commencing. There will be a further independent road safety audit (stage three) when the work is fully complete. This is standard practice for any new system delivered on the public.
“We would ask that all drivers, cyclist and pedestrians take extra care while everyone gets used to the new layout. The ‘hierarchy of road users’ places those road users most at risk at the top of the hierarchy.”
“On the junction, drivers should give way to pedestrians, as per the Highway Code, but we would also ask pedestrians to be sensible and wait for a break in traffic or for vehicles to stop before crossing.”
What do you all think about this? Will the painted leaves help improve road safety or is it going to distract or confuse drivers and add more risk for pedestrians and cyclists?
“Dear bicycle mechanics and bike shop employees: Stop shaming your customers on social media”: Online plea from cyclist sparks debate
Another one for all of you to discuss, reach a consensus and inform me about: Should bike shop mechanics and employees stop posting pictures of poorly maintained bicycles in an attempt to ridicule them?
The debate was sparked off when Gordon Yeager, a local bike mechanic who runs his cycle repair shop in California, shared an image of a cracked stem (poor chap, whoever that belonged to), with the caption slyly assessing the person’s situation: “Came in for new cables, leaving with a new stem too… #YourBikeHatesYou”
The account beyond_aero took a screenshot of the story and wrote on the social media platform Threads: “Dear bicycle mechanics & bike shop employees: stop shaming your customers on social media.”
Some said that while these sort of posts can come as elitist and may appear as taking a knock at much lesser experienced and beginner cyclists, but others argued that if done with no harmful intentions and more importantly, keeping the cyclist/user anonymous, it can be some quick insightful content in jest. In fact, you’ll find several accounts if you dig deep into the depths of cycling social media which just post pictures and share stories of horribly maintained bikes, many of which we have wrote about on this live blog over the years.
But back to this post, replying to it, one person wrote: “Why is this shaming? It’s entertaining AND educational to see what things bike mechanics encounter. Nobody is named or shown in those posts. Who’s hurt by this?”
Another person said: “How is this shaming? showing clearly worn out parts and showing that they look over the bike completely to make sure their customers ride safe?” to which the original poster beyond_aero replied: “It’s the ‘your bike hates you’ hashtag. This picture with a different caption would be a lot more helpful.”
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Latest Comments
She's simply magnificent!
The 20 mph encouraging people to use their phones concept reminds me of possibly my favourite ever Private Eye cartoon, two muggers standing over their senseless victim going through his wallet and one saying to the other, "There's bound to be crime when idiots persist in carrying this sort of money around…" If drivers are admitting that they will break the law if they are given the opportunity to do so then clearly that is openly stating that giving them a licence to drive is about as sensible as giving a drug addict a pharmacist's licence.
How annoying having to occasionally glance away from your phone to control your vehicle.
Agreed except it might help a tiny bit e.g. a camera that could detect a driver looking down at a phone, or when you're about to get close passed, and then give you a warning. You might get sick of the constant warning sounds though.
I think you should take a look at yourself.
This is like Schrödinger's cyclist isn't it? We can't have 20mph zones because drivers will crash because they're exercising all the concentration they have to keep below 20mph, but also we can't have them because they'll get bored and go on their phones.
But also So it's OK for people to be driving while on their phones around schools, but not anywhere else?
“I personally think this will cause more accidents as people have got more time on their hands to play with their phones and other gadgets in the car.” Tell me you're not fit to hold a driving licence without telling me you're not fit to hold a driving licence!
https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/highland-council-s-20mph-speed-limit-programme-picks-up-nati-437891/ the article fails to mention that the majority of motorists blithely ignore the 20mph limit, continuing to drive at 35 unless there's a marked police vehicle in sight or outed on waze.
Ours has a wardrobe in it - I guess that could have a mirror attached.
50 thoughts on ““Dear mechanics”: Cyclist asks bike shop staff to stop “shaming” customers on social media over poorly maintained bikes; Is council’s “painted leaf” experiment an “accident waiting to happen”?; Dutch-style roundabouts reap benefits+ more on the live blog”
Nobody should get too
Nobody should get too surprised by the comments on that Finchhamstead new road layout. Comments on any topic of local interest are invariably at least 90% reactionary, dull and predictable.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Bear in mind that this is the location where irate drivers were verbally abusing the contractors carrying out the works – and in (at least) one case used their vehicle to attempt an attack on a worker.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-68309152
Bloody snitches..
Bloody snitches..
Criticise away. After all
Criticise away. After all people here feel free to do so. If someone is daft enough to do something daft then let the world know. Punish stupidity not praise it.
Not a clue what you’re on
Not a clue what you’re on about…
mattsccm wrote:
<Whoooossssssshhhhhhh!> 😉(EDITED) I think I was being unfair to mattsccm and deserve a <whoosh> of my own…
I’m not surprised. I used to
I’m not surprised. I used to live there, and it’s proper self entitled wankpanzer territory.
I’ve worked in Wokingham for
I’ve worked in Wokingham for the last year and you’re so right, you’d think they were going equipped to cross a continent with the cars on the twice daily school run blocking all the roads.
So did Wokingham suddenly
So did Wokingham suddenly discover a lock-up full of white paint at near its expiry date?
As is usually the case they
As is usually the case they are missing the point. “Looks like a playground” – yes, there are lots of kids in the area, it is near two primary schools, so slow down and pay attention!
per the BBC article “Andrew Rock, a driving instructor from the area, told BBC Radio Berkshire he would be getting his students to “approach with caution” and believed the crossing was “potentially dangerous”.” Yes you understand!
I like the look of it.
I like the look of it.
It’s interesting.
It’s interesting (as a pattern).
Proof in the pudding (maybe they only have a hundred “careful, competent, law-abiding” drivers slowly pass through an hour?
But… without already having “tamed the car” (I’m not seeing that they have) it’s just a new riff on the “shared space” concept (e.g. here, UK article here).
Lots of attempts have shown that this at best just becomes “car space” at levels of above a handful of motor vehicles. And below that level it’s not really needed (just have a cycle street!). Shared space is a failure from the perspective of vulnerable road users at least.
No amount of paint hides the fact that it’s still a giant sea of hard tarmac under it – apparently multi-lane! Is “the road we have, but with more paint” what the cyclists, shoppers and schoolkids etc. asked for on the form?
World Car Free Day: 200
World Car Free Day: 200 London streets to close – BBC News
Right – everyone get down (& bingo cards at the ready). Incomiiiiiiiiiiiing!!
Shock horror, the comments
Shock horror, the comments are open on the article..
Favourite quote ( out of many
Favourite comment ( out of many) – ” London is finished ”.
KHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!!
KHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!!
NotNigel wrote:
Have a look at the the thumbs up/down on the comments, though – generally more encouraging.
Yep – shameless clickbait
Yep – shameless clickbait photo used in the article too.
I do find the comments entertaining though, especially the ones calling for a “world bike free day”. Sure I’m up for that. The coronaries given to frothing drivers due to the increased congestion when we all jump in cars instead will be worth the “getting held up” alone.
The comments are almost
The comments are almost parody like, as if non-motorists have got in first and put exactly what they expect the typical commentators to put.
I’m in a mildly anarchic mood
I’m in a mildly anarchic mood, so this looks like it could be some fun
Given some of the shit bike
Given some of the shit bike mechanicery out there, it’s a bit rich that they (deliberate sweeping generalisation) think they can criticise anyone.
Is there an equivalent “shit
Is there an equivalent “shit jobs by bike ‘mechanics’ ” on soshul meeja?
You can find it by following
You can find it by following #halfords
Quite, My last trip to the
Quite, My last trip to the LBS my bike came back with bits missing and a nonsense of a re-cabling job, and they charged me double what they quoted up front for it.
I do my own bike repairs thesedays.
I once dropped off my 10
I once dropped off my 10 speed road bike for a service. When I picked it up, I discovered they’d fitted nine speed components!
On repair cafe jobs, I see
On repair cafe jobs, I see instances of bikes left out in the rain or almost barn finds and bikes where some bodger has tried and failed at a repair : the gear cable hooked-up backwards, V-brakes with a return spring missing or an adjuster missing, the 8s gear selector that seemingly cannot ever have worked, the seized, gunged-up front derailleur, a chain so rusted and seized I had to cut it off in sections, the open-ended stays that dribbled out water when I up-end the bike. All that said, a lot of superficially sad components do come back to life with some GT-85 or oil on them. I’m close to figuring out how to centre V brakes.
You can pop the spring out
You can pop the spring out and add tension with a little bit of bending.
David9694 wrote:
Having just replaced the cantilevers on two bikes with mini-Vs I can tell you that is the simplest job on earth, all you have to do is set aside two or three hours for making every conceivable adjustment to the spring tension, cable tension, pad alignment and washer spacing, trying every possible combination of all those variables (don’t forget to try all nine potential combinations of arm pin position as well), and then in frustration go back to the settings you had at the start and they will miraculously be working. If you’re doing two bikes it shouldn’t take you more than about a day and a half…
And don’t forget the role of
And don’t forget the role of cycling component manufacturers. They make a lot of rubbish. Aluminium stems with short fatigue lives, rubbish bottom brackets, cheap bearings etc. Us consumers ultimately end up paying for someone to fix these problems.
Quote:
I knew they were tall in that there Dutchland, but I didn’t realise this was why.
Natural selection – there’s
Natural selection – there’s pressure on pedestrians to have longer legs to cross the deadly cycle paths more quickly (or just be large enough to scare off cyclists)…
Wouldn’t use that “cycle lane
Wouldn’t use that “cycle lane” anyway, so no loss.
I feel for Yanina Kusova, a
I feel for Yanina Kusova, a talented young rider who was very much carrying that team by herself. Hopefully a better funded Continental or development squad will sign her, to finish alone at the Tour and with a reasonable GC ranking is no mean feat. Shame on the Uzbek federation. I wouldn’t blame her for withdrawing from the Worlds based on her treatment.
Quote:
Come now, granted it’s Friday afternoon but still, standards…
Struggling for news content?
Struggling for news content? Only taken two weeks to report on these overgrown hedges, I hope shes still not stuck on the pavement waiting for them to pass.
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24596808.bucklesham-overgrown-paths-means-scooter-user-misses-tour/
That Tegan Phillips reminds
That Tegan Phillips reminds me of Alice Roberts the archaeologist…
Shock, horror – a sympathetic
Shock, horror – a sympathetic article in the Mail about poor cycling infrastructure. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13868295/town-brthplace-bike-dangerous-cyclists-poor-cycle-routes.html
But don’t worry – the comments are as you’d expect.
You have to be a right sweaty
You have to be a right sweaty betty to corrode an aluminium stem to that level. It doesn’t appear to be cracked though, that’s just the paint peeling off due to the corrosion
It looks dented to me, in the
It looks dented to me, in the centre at the top, at the end of the long crack.
Singletrack had some of the
Singletrack had some of the Problem Solver’s P nuts, to tighten tubeless valves and remove them trailside, in their FGF. So I had to have a look at what else they might have though of. Some may be interested in this
https://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=PDWIDS
I’d fancy something more aggressive, if I rode SPDs, my Saint’s are still incredibly scratchy.
When did the Worlds get moved
When did the Worlds get moved to November?
That’s me out of pocket as I thought they were next week…
I am an LBS mechanic (and a
I am an LBS mechanic (and a total bike Loving gearslut) and in our shop we basically have two sorts of customers: those who come in with a perfectly working (and almost unused months and years after purchased)bike and complain about a barely noticable occasional noise as If it was the ultimate proof for everyone and everything in the world beeing truly evil and against them.
The other type are those who ride their bikes into the ground until they literaly break down. I ‘ve had to replace disc brake calipers because people were “braking” with their pistons as the pads had not worn out but worn trough and away.
Combine this with the peoples tendency to buy cheap crappy bikes online and leave them outside all nights you are thrown into a lot of very messy and most importantly time consuming and thus uneconomic situations.
Also people keep making those car comparisons and usually can’t hide their “disbelief” at how much it can cost to turn back 15.000 kilometers without service or shelter at night.
My point is this: as a LBS mechanic it is pretty easy to perceive most customers as less than smart and I often wonder why people spend 3500+ on bikes If they aparently hate them so much.
So If some of that frustration and disbelief is vented
with some humor and a picutre I can sooo understand that and as long as there is no personal mention of the customer or strong language involved I really don’t see a problem. A lot of people really don’t care about their bikes at all and should not be surprised if they are not getting any praise for this from the guy who is expected to turn maximum corrosion into shiny-silent-smoth by tomorrow and almost for free.
Maybe #yourbikehatesyou should be #yourbikedoesntcareaboutyoueither but If you knowingly make a mess you should be prepared for people being unhappy about it.
On the other side of the coin
On the other side of the coin, if everybody looked after their bikes perfectly you would most likely be out of a job, wouldn’t you?
I do understand where you’re coming from and even as an amateur, yes, it is very frustrating when friends ask if you can resurrect a bike that’s been out in the garden for five years untouched and then are astonished when you explain that the required parts will cost more than the bike is actually worth.
However I think the problem with mechanics posting material like that shown here is that it is indicative of a patronising attitude towards customers that is all too prevalent in bike shops, particularly towards female customers I’m sorry to say (I’m sure this doesn’t apply to you). In too many shops the customer is treated like an idiot for not being as knowledgeable as the professional they are paying to fix their bike. A large part of the reason I am a fairly competent mechanic now is that many (many!) years ago when I was young I wanted to avoid having to take my bike to a mechanic because I knew there was a good chance of the encounter ending up with me feeling belittled and patronised.
It isn’t just bike shops
It isn’t just bike shops where that happens. In pretty much every field where people with technical knowledge or skills deal with the public you will find it. Some customer service training might be required.
Very true, though I find bike
Very true, though I find bike shops, record shops and guitar shops are frequently amongst the worst offenders, possibly because they are the shops where are you are most likely to find employees who are passionate about the products they sell which unfortunately can transmute into snobbery towards those not quite as knowledgeable/fanatical as themselves.
bensynnock wrote:
This from over 40 years ago, I’m sure we’ve all been here at some point:
I guessed it would be that
I guessed it would be that sketch before I even clicked on the link, brilliant! For a time it was permissible and understood to respond to the offer of additional extras in electronics shops with, “No thank you, I don’t want salad cream or a bag on my head either.”
If everyone knew how to
If everyone knew how to perfectly maintain their bikes and were willing to spend the time and effort to do so, you’d be out of a job.
I fall between the two extremes that you mention. Last year I clocked 11500 km, this year will be about the same. I ride a ‘gravel-ish’ titanium framed bike that doubles as a commuter. For me it’s a utilitarian means of transport and it simply needs to ride without drama and without complications, all components are optimized toward that. I maintain it (chain swaps, cleaning, disc brake change, tire change) and have it revised twice a year. It stays in my office or in the apartment but I do ride it every single day regardless of the weather. It’s not spic & span.
Whenever I visit my brother and he sees the bike, he looks at me as if I’m a war criminal. He rides a Pinarello, during the weekend. When the sun shines. 60 km per tour. After each and every trip, he totally cleans, hand dries and takes apart his bike to inspect and lube everything. I’m sure his derailleur jockey wheels adore him. He also has it maintained twice a year. I’m sure his bike shop loves him.
Am I going to hell?
You get the same thing in
You get the same thing in every IT. Computer technicians will post pictures of a computer case full of dust, or sometimes a nest of some kind. In networking, whenever we replace cabling or equipment in a network cabinet we’ll take before and after pictures and have a good laugh at how bad the before pictures were.
Really sad postscript to the
Really sad postscript to the Tashkent story. The Uzbek federation took exception to Yanina Kuskova posting that Insta story and has refused to fly her bike and her wheels to the World Champs, also citing lack of results and a poor attitude. Absolutely speechless. She top 50’d in the TdF Avec Zwift pretty much solo, has decent results riding (if photos are anything to go by) various Frankenbikes and looks absolutely dedicated to the sport on a wage of 200-300 euros per month.